Penny Arcade Forums› Help / Advice Forum
The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.

"Radical" Journalists

An-DAn-D EnthusiastAshevilleRegistered User regular
edited April 2009 in Help / Advice Forum
Hello!

I'm getting really into reading articles by Hunter S. Thompson, and I'm wondering if there are other authors out there with a similar kind of writing (Gonzo-ish) or just ones that are crazy, but offer amazing perspectives at the same time.

Thompson mentions Lionel Olay in his article "The Ultimate Free Lancer" but I can't find a collection of his works. Amazon offers two paperbacks, but they seem to be novels rather than collections (I could be wrong). Anyone know anything about this dude?


So yeah, Lionel Olay or crazy journalists. Any suggestions?

Photobooth ; ; Twitter ; Steam
An-D on

Posts

  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Spider Jerusalem from Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan and PJ O'Rourke are nice places to start.

    TychoCelchuuu on
  • An-DAn-D Enthusiast AshevilleRegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Transmetropolitan looks awesome. I'm going to find a volume of that soon.

    What do you recommend starting with on PJ O'Rourke? He looks pretty prolific.

    An-D on
    Photobooth ; ; Twitter ; Steam
  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    "How to Drive Fast on Drugs While Getting Your Wing-Wang Squeezed and Not Spill Your Drink" is as good a place as any. Wikipedia says it's in Republican Party Reptile.

    TychoCelchuuu on
  • psycojesterpsycojester Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    I enjoyed Holidays in Hell, that was the first of his stuff that i read.

    psycojester on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • JacobkoshJacobkosh Gamble a stamp. I can show you how to be a real man!Moderator mod
    edited April 2009
    Nonfiction writer Jon Ronson isn't extreme, per se (although wiki does call him a "gonzo" journalist), but his subjects certainly are - I've enjoyed what I've read of Them: Adventures with Extremists and The Men Who Stare at Goats.

    Or OP, if you're interested in one of the original radical journalists, check out HL Mencken. He was a son of a bitch but damned if I don't love his writing.

    Jacobkosh on
  • QuirkQuirk Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    Greg Palast is a good read. Not as 'radical' exactly, as Hunter S. Thomson or anything, but good work, solid writing and an easy to read style. I recommend his website, which is at http://www.gregpalast.com/, or his book Armed Madhouse.

    Quirk on
  • WeAre138WeAre138 Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    For the sake of explanation: there a a few literary components of HST that might be worth exploring. Are you interested in just his journalism? He has a bunch of stuff, but also know that he did a lot of different work. F/L in Las Vegas was a profoundly novelistic approach and not so much journalism (Sure, he attended the Mint race and the Drug Convention, but his search for the American Dream echos Fitzgerald).

    His coverage of the 1972 Presidential Campaign for rolling stone is astounding and provocative. His questioning of the "system" and voter apathy, as it were, is just as poignant today. His collection of letters and personal correspondence is quite an interesting insight into the mind behind his crazy stories. Also, The Great Shark Hunt is some of his best short pieces. "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved" was the first piece of his work to be described as Gonzo. Last: The Rum Diary was a novella he wrote when he was 22; its interesting because you can tell he is borrowing far too heavily from Hemmingway and Fitzgerald and hasn't quite found his voice yet.

    Sorry. I don't suppose this answers your questions. I merely wanted to share the extent to which my favorite author wrote. There is a lot (and a lot of his phases) to explore. I love the man because he was a true patriot and a jester with words, not because of drugs or alcohol or Colorado---although I do enjoy drugs and alcohol and live in Colorado ;)

    When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro --Dr. Hunter Stockton Thompson

    WeAre138 on
    Dinosaurs can happen at anytime!
  • An-DAn-D Enthusiast AshevilleRegistered User regular
    edited April 2009
    I'm interested in just about everything he's done. I've watched Fear and Loathing and also got the book, which I'm going to start soon. I'm reading The Great Shark Hunt now (all of it...its so cool), and I really love everything I read. The drug/alcohol thing is just chuckle-worthy because he does have insight into everything he writes about.

    An-D on
    Photobooth ; ; Twitter ; Steam
  • WeAre138WeAre138 Registered User regular
    edited April 2009
    An-D wrote: »
    I'm interested in just about everything he's done. I've watched Fear and Loathing and also got the book, which I'm going to start soon. I'm reading The Great Shark Hunt now (all of it...its so cool), and I really love everything I read. The drug/alcohol thing is just chuckle-worthy because he does have insight into everything he writes about.
    Absolutely. The remarkable thing about his work is that for as twisted as he is on whatever it may be ("Want a beer?" - No Thanks. "Care for some either?" -What? "Never-mind.") , his observations are usually right on the money. Do read his letters --The Proud Highway because they give you the sense that the guy was really on these intellectual journeys regardless of his writing; he only just happened to record them. Enjoy!

    WeAre138 on
    Dinosaurs can happen at anytime!
Sign In or Register to comment.
Penny Arcade Forums› Help / Advice Forum